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Saturday, 16 July 2011

Some Family Connections to the Sea

Having been born and living in a major port you would expect to find some connection with the sea in the occupations of your family.

My grandfather and my father's younger brother however both made a career in the maritime industry as did one of his son in law's.
I have been fortunate to have all of my uncle's discharge books and a book of my grandfather's used when he entered Argentina in the 1920's as a merchant seaman on the Royal Mail Steam Packet service.
My Uncle worked on the great Cunard liners and I have found him on a number of passenger lists travelling between New York and Southampton. I also have a number of photographs of him taken with other members of the crew and some of the passengers he served as a steward.

My maternal grandfather had a more shortlived connection with the sea as he served on HMS Amphirite (see photo) during WW1.His step grandfather and fathers half brother also had connections to the sea. His grandmother's husband was a fisherman and his son has been found in Cornwall, Sussex and the Isle of Wight on census night with occupation of mercantile mariner.
I have found the following website useful for researching my family in Southampton. There are also sites for some of the other major UK ports which may be useful for others wanting background information on the lives of this maritime ports.http://www.portcities.org.uk/

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About Me

I have been doing family history research since the turn of the century. I am in the UK and my research has been UK focused.
I am not an expert but I have a lot of experience in UK research. My particular counties of interest are Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Leicestershire, Rutland, Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire.